Arizona GOP Chairwoman Slams Republican Governor For Congratulating Katie Hobbs on Election Win

Arizona GOP chair Dr. Kelli Ward lashed out at Governor Doug Ducey (R) Friday after he congratulated Democrat governor-elect Katie Hobbs on defeating Republican Kari Lake.

Lake made her losing campaign about the 2020 election and has yet to concede the race, which was called a week ago. The former TV anchor has claimed with no evidence that the election was not fair, accusing some Republican voters of being disenfranchised.

Ducey sat on the sidelines while the race was sorted out before he congratulated his successor in a statement on Wednesday. He also posed for photos with Hobbs and shared them on Twitter.

Ward shared Ducey’s post and slammed him for “climbing out of his hole” to congratulate a Democrat for winning.

“This guy supported all of the people who Republican voters rejected during the primary then he disappeared from AZ until climbing out of his hole today to celebrate this,” Ward wrote.

Ward has been under fire in recent weeks as Lake’s GOP primary opponent has led a chorus of Republicans calling for her resignation. “We have a party chair who, when she took office in 2019, we had a Republican governor; we had Republican senators. And now we have two Democrat senators and a Democrat elected to the highest office in the state. I call that an unmitigated disaster,” wrote Karrin Taylor Robson last week.

Ducey, who was term-limited and publicly supported Lake’s candidacy, said voters had “spoken” in a statement where he vowed to help Hobbs with a smooth transition:

Today I congratulated Governor-elect Katie Hobbs on her victory in a hard-fought race and offered my full cooperation as she prepares to assume the leadership of the State of Arizona. My administration will work to make this transition as smooth and seamless as possible. Our duty is to ensure that Arizona’s 24th Governor and her team can hit the ground running and continue our state’s incredible momentum.

All of us have waited patiently for the democratic process to play out. The people of Arizona have spoken, their votes have been counted and we respect their decision. No matter who we voted for, all of us have a stake in Arizona’s success. Our future is bright and boundless. Let us never forget that as we begin this next chapter in our state’s history.”

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